Dear Readers,

We have a confession to make. It is now May 3rd and we have yet to complete all of the items on our lists, let alone blog about them. Of course our plan was to get things done in 31 days, but we didn't realize how hard that would be, and, ironically, kept putting everything off! In any case, we have done more in the last month than we would have, had we not written our lists. The good news is that we still plan on blogging about the things we want to stop putting off, so we hope you plan on reading about them! We probably won't be done in the next 31 days, but we hope we'll eventually complete everything on our lists! Happy reading :)

~Leah and Amy 

Pinterest, part 1

Task #3: Scented Candle DIY project from Pinterest

If you haven't heard of Pinterest yet, I don't know what rock you live under but you're about to see the light! Pinterest is this wonderful online "pinboard" where you can post pretty pictures of clothes you wish you had; projects you could do if only you had more time; and breathtaking photographs of almost everything under the sun. Basically it's a place to go when you're bored and you want some sort of inspiration. In any case, the ratio of pins posted to pins you actually attempt to do is about 1000:1. That being said, as part of this challenge I wanted to actual try out one of my pins.

Recently I saw a pin that demonstrated an easy way to recycle scented candles by melting the candles down and layering the scents. Since I have a good amount around my house, I thought it would be a great (and easy) thing to try. Overall, it worked pretty well, although I think it would have been best to use a smaller jar since my layers turned out pretty thin. I used four candles: vanilla, mango, tropical fruit, and guava coconut. It smells very tropical which is really nice in the summer! I'm definitely going to try it again!

~Leah

PS>> This is my first of 3 Pinterest projects. Look out for parts 2 and 3!!

Here are some pictures of the process:

Step 1: Boil the wax

Step 2: Pour first layer into clean jar. Wait until cool then repeat with second layer, etc.

Final Product! Make sure to trim the wick!!

May the odds be ever in your favor!

Task #2: Go see the Hunger Games

I'm not usually one to follow teen sensations and fads, but I was drawn to this bandwagon. I had heard of these books well before the movie came out, but I had never thought to read them because so many people said they were fraught with violence in a post-apocalyptic world...a far cry from my usual reading material! However, once I heard the movie was announced and the hype surrounding it, I knew I would want to read the books before seeing the film. Of course, I was not the only person with this idea, so when I went to the library there were literally 500 holds on the first book of Suzanne Collins' trilogy. Needless to say I was disappointed. Thankfully, one of my co-workers had the entire series and I read that book in under a week, it was so good! When I finally saw the movie, I was really happy with the way they portrayed the characters and the overall feel of the novel. I'm looking forward to watching the next 2 movies in this series!

~Leah

Sweet Potato Fries

Task #1: Visit a new restaurant!

Honestly, there's really no other side dish I prefer than something made with sweet potatoes. If I have a choice between a side salad and sweet potato fries, I'm bound to choose the fries. I don't know when this love affair started but I'm fairly consistent when I go out to eat. On my list of 31 things to "not put off"I have "visit a new restaurant." So, today I went to Isabella's, a lovely restaurant on the Upper West Side, with the education director at the museum I work at. Usually we don't go out to lunch, but this was a treat for us after a grueling week of folding, labeling and mailing the museum's quarterly newsletter, and what a treat it was! When I saw sweet potato fries on the menu I knew I had to order them. I think I saw the fries before I saw that the entree was a turkey burger, which is another "go to" meal for me anyway so it worked out wonderfully. No matter how much I tried to convince myself to "be good" and get a salad, the sweet, starchy side was calling my name. Needless to say, I ate every bit of that burger and those sweet potatoes (which came with a lovely maple honey mustard dressing) and I don't feel bad about it! Besides there's plenty of Vitamin A in sweet potatoes, so that should balance out the calories. All in all, it was a great lunch out of the office and I can't wait for my next sweet potato adventure!

~Leah

A Task Long Overdue

"Jane Austen", Evert A. Duyckinick, 1873. Via Shmoop.com

Okay, friends, it's confession time. I realize that Leah and I are only a few days into this challenge, but I have to get something off my chest. I'm a self-confessed Jane Austen fan... but I have only finished one of her books (I read Emma in middle school, and I barely made it through to the end). That's right folks, I have seen at least one film adaptation of each of her novels, I quote her words, hold men up to the standards of her characters, but I've never really read Jane's works. Can I even speak of her on a first name basis when I've barely taken the time to get to know her? It's kind of shameful that I haven't even finished Pride and Prejudice since I had something like 80 pages left to go the last time I put it down. So, of course, one of my bigger goals this month is to read the rest of Miss Austen's novels. Unfortunately, I've already hit a brick wall. I started Mansfield Park two days ago and I haven't even met the heroine, Fanny Price, yet. The introduction to the story, which takes all of about five minutes to show on film, has caused me to slip into a stupor each time I try to get through it. I'm tempted to just skip ahead and get to the "interesting" parts. But do they exist? Let's just say that I'm not exactly looking forward to the next 487 pages...